Eternal
by The Mocking J
Summary: Some stories are eternal, as are some friendships.


_**[[I don't really know what to say about this... I guess it might have been inspired by **__**EmmyEeveeZorua**__**'s **__**A Tale and The Times**__**, which you should definitely read if you're interested in Azran legends and that sort of thing. **_

**Disclaimer:**_** Don't own.**_

**Spoilers: **_**Possibly for Eternal Diva. **_

**Set: **_**In Ambrosia, millennium before Eternal Diva.]]**_

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**Eternal**

This legend takes place thousands of years before your time, during an era when science and magic and music were still alive. An ancient but brilliant race known as the Azran (Perhaps you have heard of them?) decided to share their legacies with the world. One of which was the City of Harmony, better known as the eternal Kingdom of Ambrosia.

It is said the Kingdom was once ruled by a beautiful queen. She was graced with hair golden as fields of wheat, and the Azran sages who studied the skies claimed her eyes shone brighter than the stars. However, the queen was not only revered for her astounding beauty; it was also for her ethereal voice and her kindness to all creatures. Having no surviving blood relatives— her mother had died in childbirth and her venerable father in grief – one would expect the queen to be tainted by sorrow. In fact, she loved her subjects like an extended family, none more so than her trusted handmaid: a girl with amber eyes and flaming red hair.

The queen cherished the maid like a sister. They became as close as two consonant harmonies. Seeing them apart was impossible; like a face without eyes or a dawn without the sunlight. The pair was truly inseparable. Every morning they would stroll along the vast beach bordering the Kingdom, or dance through the Great Halls, or decorate the palace with exotic flowers. Together they would frolic in the sea or teach the gentle giant wailing Lagushi (an extinct aquatic species today) how to sing.

Unfortunately, these pleasant times were not to last. Seasons changed; the flowers wilted, the beach grew frigid, the Lagushi departed for warmer waters.

One day, the queen fell terribly ill. The Kingdom went into uproar. The disease had arrived so suddenly that even the wisest sages could not detect its cause. While the sages hastened to create a healing cordial, other Ambrosians scoured the land for a natural cure: alleviating herbs, miracle water, the purest air– _anything!_ Alas, there seemed to be no remedy for their ruler.

In her final hours, the queen was bedridden; too weak to even walk anymore. As always, the red-haired maid sat at the queen's side, despite the chance that she too could contract the malady. It deeply pained her to see the queen suffer. The maid was overcome with guilt and conflict– should she join the search for the cure? Or remain at her mistress's side? _How much time did they have...?_

Noticing her friend's distress, the queen sighed, "My dear, I am sorry to have been a burden upon you for so long..."

The girl shook her head frantically. "You have never been a burden upon me! I am blessed to call you my mistress..." She gasped as the queen's eyes began to close. "P-please hold on, your highness— you must stay with us!"

There was a faint smile on the queen's lips. "I, too, was blessed to call you my treasured companion. And I know you will be an honourable ruler in my stead..." With feeble strength, the queen held her successor's hand and recited the parting words, _"To you, I bestow my crown... my title... this kingdom..."_

"D-do not speak that way...!" The maid begged, clasping the queen's palm tightly. She was wracked with sobs. "_MY QUEEN!_"

"_Farewell, my love..." _

Mere moments later, the sages announced that they may have discovered a remedy to save the queen: The Elixir of Eternal Life.

"It is too late," the red-haired girl wept. "Her highness has left us."

For weeks, Ambrosia mourned its lost ruler. Now there was no music, nor dancing, nor life. Only silence prevailed throughout the city. The red haired girl could not bear to remove the crown from the queen's head. Though it had been her friend's dying wish, she would never rule Ambrosia. Instead, she came to an ultimate decision:

The people of Ambrosia would consume the Elixir of Eternal Life. This would be their punishment for failing to save the queen, but also their promise that they would be reunited with her, some day.

_I will see you soon, my queen. _


End file.
